Facing for wall building blocks



Feb. 9, 1932. c, w so 7 1,844,828

FACING FORWALL BUILDING BLOCKS Filed Nov. 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. 9, '1932. c. A. WILLSON FACING FOR WALL BUILDING BLOCKS Filed Nov. 12, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE OLABENGE A. WILLSON, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSTGHOB, BY MESH]! ASSIGNIENTS, TO AMERICAN FACE BBIGK'RESEABCH OOH-PORTION, A. CORPORATION 01? ILLINOIS I FAGING FOB WALL BUILDING BLOCKS Application meq November 12, ms. Serial 30. 818,827.

This invention is directed to an improved facing for a wall building unit, such, for instance, as a concrete block of rectangular form and of the size and character commonly. 6' in use at the 10 terestin pattern. The exposed surface of the bloc is divided in such a way as to display multiples of the corresponding dimensions of ordinar bricks, the pattern being of such a nature t at when the blocks are laid into a Wall it will be difficult, or impossible,

to discern the joints or divisions between the individual blocks, but, on the contrary, such lines will blend into and harmonize with the division lines between the surface sections of the individual blocks in such a way as to closely simulate the appearance of brickwork.

It is generally recognized that the small units of brickwork present a more attractive appearance than the larger concrete blocks, but it is cheaper to manufacture and build with the larger units. In the past, attempts have been made to provide building blocks with a surface pattern resembling brickwork, but the bonding or overlapping that is characteristic of brickwork has made it impossible to produce blocks of rectangular configuration. Such blocks have commonly been stepped or notched at their ends to conform to the normal brick pattern, or have presented the appearance of cut bricks at the ends of the blocks, in violation of what is recognized as conformable to the highest standards of brick laying.

In the present invention, the desirable rectangular outline of the building block has been retained by providing a surface pattern which, when the wall is constructed, presents the appearance of brick courses in which stretcher bricks alternate with header bricks in such a way as to present a. novel and interesting and highly ornamental framework bond or pattern. Atthe same time, the arrangement is one which effectively conceals the location of the joints between the blocks and everywhere presents the appearance of bricks laid in courses, the actual joints being indistinguishable from the simulated joints formed in the surface of the blocks.

Further objects and details of the invention will appear from the description of the same, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a wall built of building blocks embodying the features of the present invention;

Figs. 2 and 3 are front elevations of in dividual blocks showing alternate arrangements of the brick designs;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a concrete blockhaving the brick design of Fig. 3 cast in its face;

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of fractional blocks, similar to the block of Fig. 4, worked out in normal brick units to be used as needed at the ends of the courses or at window or door openings, or elsewhere; and v Fig. 7 7 is a block having the brick units made up of thin clay brick tile cemented to the face of the concrete block.

As shown, the blocks are of generally rec- '7 tangular dimensions, although they are recessed or cored in any suitable manner to reduce weight or provide dead air spaces of the character commonly used in concrete building blocks or the like. It will be understood, therefore, that where a block is referred to as rectangular it has reference to its general extreme dimensions, irrespective of the presence or absence of holes, recesses or similar indentations.

The exterior or facing surface, however, is of truly rectangular configuration, and, as shown, is slightly in excess of the length of a brick and a half, and in width slightly in excess of the thickness of two bricks. The face surface is divided by a longitudinal groove 10 into upper and lower course sections, and each course section is divided by a vertical groove 11 into a full brick section 12 and a half brick section 13, the respective full brick and half brick sections in the ad joining courses being in stepped or staggered arrangement. Each block thus presents a "appealtance of a stretcher brick and a header brick in adjoining relation.

The grooves 10 and 11 are of a width and depth to simulate the appearance of brick joints, and these grooves may be rectangular, V-shaped, semi-clrcular, or having a beadlike projection, or may be of different colored material, or patterned in any other way which simulates mortar joints of the character or color commonly employed in ordinary brickwork. In fact, the,division lines (grooves in the present instance) may be afforded by any device that isolates or sets off in a pearance the bricklike sections of the bloc so that it will present the appearance of actual bricks divided from one another by joints of the character commonly emp oyed.

The block may be completely formed of cement or concrete or other plastic material, as in Fig. 4; or as in Fig. 7, it may consist of a concrete backing having a brick or tile facing 14 cemented to the surface of the concrete to afford an actual brick finish in lieu of the imitation brick finish. afforded by the completely molded block of Fig. 4. The division lines, grooves or seams of the brick or tile surface shown. in Fig. 7, are of the same character as those heretofore described, and need not be particularly referred to. Furthermore, it will be understood that the block of the resent invention maybe made of any suita le material, with or without a special surface layer, and that the invention is concerned rather with the method of dividing the surface into sections having the specially defined characteristics than to the composltion of material or materials of which the block'is composed; and it will be further understood that, if desired, full standard bricks may be imbedded and unified into a block possessing the surface pattern or bond of the present invention, and that such. a built up block is intended to be covered and included by the claim, unless otherwise indicated.

Referring now to the manner of combining such blocks into a wall, it will be noted by reference to Fig. 1 that the division line's be tween the individual blocks are conveniently indicated by dotted lines in the upper portion of the wall, although it will be understood that in the actual wall, when properly constructed, the seams or division lines will be indistinguishable from the grooves which simulate them, so that the wall as a whole will present the brickwork pattern indicated in the figure.

It will further be observed that the blocks in a given course overlap by one-third the blocks in the vertically adjacent courses, although the overlap in each instance will be one-half the length of the adjacent section 12 representing the full length of a stretcher brick in the adjacent course. 'This arrangement providesan adequate o erlap between the blocks to fully conform to structural reipliirements, while at the same time presenting t e appearance of a half overlap between vertically adjacent brick sections 1212.

This method of overlapping will bring the vertical division lines or grooves 11 in ad'acent blocks into re 'stering relation with one another, which gives the appearance of a continuous vertical joint run through two brick courses, and harmonizing in pattern arrangement with the actual vertical joints which span the width of two brick courses. This arrangement brings the header brick sections 13-13 into continuous diagonal alignment, in one oblique direction, and into interrupted diagonal alignment in the other oblique direction, which, however, presents an attractive pattern effect in the completed wall, which thus presents the appearance of abrick wall intentionally patterned to produce an attractive or ornamental appearance.

The wall shown in Fig. 1 is composed of blocks presenting the brick pattern arrangement of Fig. 2, but a similar effect, in reverse arrangement, however, would be secured by building the wall entirely of bricks presenting the pattern shown in Fig. 3, in which latter case the diagonal aligning of the header bricks would be reversed as compared with that presented in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5 and 6, as before stated, show fractional blocks which may be used as occasion requires. The fractional brick of Fig. 5 shows two header sections 15 with an intervening groove or division line 16, while the fractional brick shown in Fig. 6 shows two header brick sections 17 in adjacent relation in the same course, together with a full stretcher brick section 18 in the adjoining course.

In the wall shown in Fig. 1, the fractional brick of Fig. 5 is located at the point 19, while a fractional brick of the character shown in Fig. 6 is located at the point 20. These fractional bricks carry out and extend the wall design, and when properly fitted in place are indistinguishable from the full sized constituents of the wall structure.

The invention is one which conserves the desirable characteristics of'the concrete block construction, and at the same time disguises the character of the block in such a way as to greatly enhance the appearance of the completed wall by the presentation of an attractive brick pattern, and by relieving the monotony in appearance which is the invariable characteristic of ordinary concrete block construction.

I claim:

A wall composed of blocks, each block having an exposed face in simulation of constituent portions of two brick courses, each course consisting of a full length stretcher brick section and an adjacent header brick section, the stretcher brick sections and the header brick sections in the two courses being in reverse relatlon and the sectlons being sepa- Y rated by grooves simulatin the mortar joints in brickwork, the blocks being laid in the wall in two-thirds overlapping relation to bring the simulated joints between the stretcher and header sections in one block into vertical register with similar simulated joints in the "ertically adj acent' block, with the contiguous header sections and the contiguous stretcher sections adjacent the simulated joints stand- 7 ing in diagonalrelation to one another and E each block terminating in position to bring the actual vertical joints into register with the middle of the contiguous simulated stretcher brick sections in the vertically adjacent blocks, and the completed wall presenting the ap earance of brick courses, each course consistm of alternate stretcher and header bricks w1th the header bricks in adjacent courses" in continuous diagonal alignment in one direction and in interrupted di-- agonal alignment in the other direction.

In witness that I claim the foregoing 1 have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day of November, 1928.

CLARENCE A. WILLSON. 

